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Fundraisers set for Oak Harbor assault victim

Two fundraisers are scheduled in the coming days to help an Oak Harbor man defray the medical costs stemming from a suspected assault that took place last week.

Chris Cooper, 23, is currently at Harborview Medical Center. His father, Terry Cooper, describes Chris’s condition as a comatose state.

“He has not been conscious since they found him on Pioneer Way,” Terry Cooper said Tuesday. A passerby, believed to be someone who delivered newspapers, discovered an unconscious Chris Cooper in front of a SE Pioneer Way storefront about a block away from the Highway 20 intersection.

Terry Cooper said Cooper was found at about 2:20 a.m. Nov. 17. The 23-year-old was transported

to Whidbey General Hospital before being airlifted to Harborview Medical Center. Terry said his son received injuries from several hard blows to the head and face. Chris was in surgery by 7 a.m. Saturday.

A spokesperson for Harborview Medical Center said Cooper remains in serious condition in the intensive care unit.

Oak Harbor Police Department Detective Sergeant Teri Gardner didn’t provide many details about the Saturday morning incident. She said it is being investigated and officers have conducted interviews. If anyone has any information, she encouraged people to contact Det. Jim Hoagland at 360-279-4600.

Terry Cooper, who lives in Clinton, said he did not know what his son was doing on Pioneer Way at the time he was injured. He did say he expects Chris will remain in the intensive care unit for weeks.

Cooper’s assault comes several months after Oak Harbor youth football coach Tyson Boon was assaulted in September outside Mi Pueblo. Like Cooper, Boon was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center and spent time in intensive care.

Chris Cooper works for a local landscaping company on Whidbey Island and he is a graduate of Oak Harbor High School.

While in high school, he was a member of the bowling team.

He is also known for his work on cars.

The first fundraiser is scheduled Saturday, Nov. 24 at the Football Bat located on Highway 20 in Oak Harbor. The sports bar is donating 20 percent of all proceeds to Cooper’s medical and living expenses, said acting manager Lisa Hallett.

“We’re doing everything and anything we can to help him,” Hallett said. The restaurant is planning a couple more fundraisers for Cooper, but the details haven’t been finalized yet.

The second fundraiser is Friday, Nov. 30 at Applebees. As part of Applebees “Dining to Donate” fundraiser, people can get a flyer and 15 percent of the meal will be donated to Cooper.

Terry Cooper said the flyer can be downloaded from Chris’ Facebook page.

He added a bank account has been established at Wells Fargo where people can make a donation. The account is called the “Christopher Cooper Donation Fund.”

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